Dining

Yes! There is a Vegan Sushi Restaurant.

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Gigi in Dining 4 Comments

In my pre-vegan life I was a sushi addict, known on a first name basis in all the local sushi bars in my neighborhood. I have been a vegan sometimes raw vegan for over three years now, prompted by a medical scare which resulted in a mercury poisoning diagnosis. I had read about Shojin a japanese vegan, macrobiotic restaurant sometime ago and decided we would begin our Father’s Day celebration there. The only “sushi” I have had is an occasional tired veggie roll consisting of cucumber, avocado, and maybe a piece of asparagus. Shojin has an extensive sushi menu, but I was still skeptical thinking it would be a bunch of weird rolls filled with fake “meat”. I was pleasantly surprised!

Shojin is located in Little Tokyo in a multi-level key center. It is a quaint place filled with colorful art, romantic lighting, piped in Jazzy versions of popular songs, and my favorite detail-baskets under the chairs for purse storage. We started off ordering green tea mint mojitos which were delicious. We also had a pitcher of mint lemon water on our table, which was constantly refilled.

Shojin

The menu was full of pictures and descriptions of all the items. Many of the selections are labeled “best one”, “best two” so that guests would know which items are most popular. We ordered appetizers to start our meal, “best one” pumpkin croquette, “best four” spicy rock shiitake tempura, and the apricot kale salad. We cleaned our plates and decided on some rolls. Everything was presented so beautifully.

“Best 1” Dynamite Roll

Yellow Magic Orchestra

All the rolls were full of flavor, there was no need to add soy sauce, wasabi or chili. Even my carnivore son Reggie was happy with the rolls.

Enjoying a Bite

We will certainly be dining at Shojin again.

Spicy Roll

Avocado Roll

Shojin is a perfect place to go with friends so that you can order a variety of things to taste. All of the items are also labeled gluten free, onion/garlic free, and raw, which makes ordering easy for any dietary concerns.

Shojin

333 South Alameda Street, #310

Los Angeles, CA 90013

213 617 0305

Mon.-Thur 5:30-11:00 Fri. 5:30-12:00 Sat. 12:00-12:00 Sun. 12:00-10:00

xoxo

Gigi

Sunday Brunch at The Penthouse

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Gigi in Dining Comments Off

The Penthouse, Santa Monica

The Penthouse located on the 18th floor (rooftop) of the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica is a gorgeous restaurant with incredible coastal views, perfect for a special celebration. I came here for brunch on Sunday with my family and had a great time, taking advantage of the Gilt City Los Angeles deal which allowed us to have bottomless mimosas, pick one entree and one dessert.

The View from our table

The interior designed by Thomas Schoos, is white with turquoise accents. If you have guests visiting this summer The Penthouse should definitely be on your list of places even if you just go for drinks. Our table was next to the window with a sweet view of the shore.

Perfect window Seat

My husband and I are vegans, but we don’t limit our dining experiences to vegetarian restaurants. We enjoy trying new places and have become experts at tweaking menus to fit our needs. Our first course was a delicious kale, walnut, cranberry salad.

Amani and Reggie had traditional brunch fare, eggs benedict and blueberry pancakes which they both enjoyed. Our voucher included two desserts which was more than enough. We selected the profiteroles and the meyer lemon panacotta.